B&W Film Selection for Night Time Photography

<p>I am in the process of setting up some old manual film cameras for night time photography and I need help selecting the best black and white film. My primary subject matter is old graveyards and tombstones. I currently use a Nikon D200 to shoot these but I really would like to set up a few manual cameras on tripods with B&W film around the perimeter of the graveyard while I am shooting with my D200. I am looking to expose the film for 15-30 minutes at a time, depending on the level of ambient (moon) light. Because of these long exposure times, I was thinking ISO 50 or 100 and a small aperture(f11-22). What I would like to know is what film (brand and speed) would be the best for this type of situation. I am also thinking of developing the film myself, so if you could suggest compatible developer for the films I would appreciate it. </p>

<p>Well the best for Night photography with long times is Fuji Acros. I though Like any film as long as the speed is under 200 for night photography.</p>

<p><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2689/4436821970_92d605f475.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4057/4436054495_9f1954fbc9.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p> These were PolyPan ISO 50 Mostly F-8-11.</p>

<p>If you use Tri-X pan AND Diafine developer, you can rate the 35mm Tri-x at 1600. This would open your opportunities!</p>

<p>Kevin,</p>

<p>The first thing I would do is to buy some Diafine and use it, it gives the greatest shadow detail of any developer/film combination. </p>

<p>Next, my first choice in film would be Plus X Pan, it is sharp, fine grained, and has great tonalities.</p>

<p>Lastly, My practical experience for long exposures based on my Celestron astro photography for 20 minute exposures (we often did this with schmidt cameras) was a 5 fstop speed loss, therefore I would use a medium speed film because of granularity and sharpness. I assume that you have a very sensitive light meter, Next, I would start with a series of PXP exposures based on ASA/ISO 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, with a lighting situation similar to that which you expect for your night photography. Cut off that section of film and process in. In your case try to arrange some exposures in the 10 to 30 minute area. That way you should show that level of reciprocity failure.</p>

<p>Lynn</p>

<p>Lynn <br>

</p>

<p>Diafine is a great developer but here is where it has a problem here. Plus-X in Diafine is ISO 400 though the grain of it is almost the same as 125 in D-76 or HC-110 it seems to me that using Diafine is a great thought as it is just that PX is the wrong film for this. PX loses speed too fast after 1 second exposure time and you wanting times at 30 minutes is way too long. The examples I used there above was at 30 seconds. Good news is Diafine won't let you down just shorten your times from what you thought. I used Rodinal 1-100 for the above shots Full stand at box speed. 20C.</p>

<p>With most films, measured times of 20-30 minutes will need hours of exposure when taking reciprocity failure in to account.</p>

<p>You may want to try Fuji Acros as it does not need any reciprocity failure adjustment up to 2minutes and very little after that.</p>

<p>You may want to look for a copy of 'Night Photography' by Andrew Sanderson as there is some good advice and techniques in it.</p>

 

<p>Read first post. :)</p>

<p>If you're talking long exposure nighttime photography from a tripod mounted camera rather than pushing to facilitate handheld photography, T-Max 100 works very well. I haven't tried any of the Fuji b&w films I bought a few years ago so I can't compare. But TMX offers much better reciprocity characteristics than Tri-X for long exposure shots using a tripod.</p>

<p>With a little practice using a test roll and some bracketing you'll quickly figure out how to estimate exposures to retain true shadow detail while avoiding blocked up highlights that make printing or scanning difficult. I have several nighttime photos using TMX that show good shadow detail in lakeside shorelines (reeds, stones and shells on the shore) under half to full moonlight. Microphen works well for this, but, again, it's not pushing the film - it's just estimating the reciprocity characteristics for long exposures. There was an excellent article written about this in a b&w photography magazine within the past 10 years but I can't put my hands on that article at the moment.</p>

<p>Diafine or stand development in very dilute Rodinal also work for Tri-X but you'll need to estimate the reciprocity much more carefully. With longer exposures it's roughly equivalent to EI 25-50 or so. Diafine and stand development in Rodinal seem to help tame excessive contrast, but it's more voodoo than science. Any you may not care for the overall appearance of those negatives. Sometimes Tri-X in Diafine can appear murky depending on the light. With stand development in dilute Rodinal it'll be very grainy and there may be some elevated base fog. Adding a little borax to the soup seemed to help but it's been so long since I tried that I can't recall the specifics.</p>

<p>You can infer from the diverse opinions here that you may need to run some tests for yourself to see what works for you to get the overall look that appeals to your aesthetics.</p>

<p>I can tell you from experience that Fuji Acros is a very hard one to beat for long exposures because of its excellent reciprocity departure characteristics. TMax 100 is almost as good, but not quite there. Acros is much gentler on the highlights when used for long exposures, and will still hold shadows well.</p>

<p>My own choice would be Ilford FP4/Rodinal. Remember to allow for reciprocity failure. For long exposures I dilute the Rodinal 1/100 to get a strong compensating effect.</p>